News.blog: Oasis considers Radiohead route

These are fearful times for the music industry. As record companies train their considerable legal might on a Minnesota mother accused of illegal downloading, their talent is walking out the back door.

No sooner had Nine Inch Nails announced on Monday that it no longer was under contract to a record label, when word came that Oasis and Jamiroquai are considering whether to release songs online for free, according to The Telegraph.

Should they decide to go the free route, Oasis and Jamiroquai -- two unsigned but very popular bands -- would follow Radiohead, the group that last week announced it would issue a digital version of its next album, In Rainbows, for whatever price individual customers are inclined to pay.

In addition, Radiohead, one of the world's most popular bands, said it would no longer be represented by a music label.

Even the hardiest music executive is going to struggle to spin this news. There's no hiding what's occurring here. The music industry is on the threshold of disintermediation, a fancy word that means the Internet is threatening to blast a thick layer of the sector's infrastructure into blue oblivion -- just like it has with travel agents, stockbrokers and newspapers.

Bands don't need huge music conglomerates to give away songs. Legions of A&R teams are no longer needed to ferret out talent. Music fans can go online and decide for themselves what gets heard.